What Is Checkers?

Checkers (also called draughts in Britain and many other countries) is a two-player strategy board game played on an 8×8 board. Each player starts with 12 pieces and the goal is to capture all of your opponent’s pieces or block them so they cannot move.

Checkers is one of the oldest board games in the world, with roots going back over 5,000 years. It’s played in virtually every country and is the perfect combination of simple rules and strategic depth.

Setting Up the Board

The Board

Place the board so that each player has a dark square in the bottom-left corner. Only the 32 dark squares are used in checkers — pieces never move onto light squares.

Placing the Pieces

Each player places their 12 pieces on the dark squares of the three rows closest to them:

  • Rows 1–3 (closest to you): Your 12 pieces, one on each dark square
  • Rows 4–5: Empty — this is the gap between the two armies
  • Rows 6–8 (closest to opponent): Their 12 pieces

The darker-colored pieces traditionally go first, but house rules may vary.

How Pieces Move

Regular Pieces

Regular pieces (also called “men”) can only move one square diagonally forward onto an empty dark square. They cannot move backward or sideways.

Jumping (Capturing)

When an opponent’s piece is diagonally adjacent to your piece and the square beyond it is empty, you must jump over it. The jumped piece is captured and removed from the board.

Key rules for jumping:

  • Jumps are mandatory — if you can jump, you must
  • Multiple jumps: If after landing from a jump, another jump is available, you must continue jumping in the same turn (a “double jump” or “triple jump”)
  • If you have multiple possible jumps, you may choose which one to take

Kings

When a regular piece reaches the last row on the opponent’s side of the board, it becomes a king.

A king is marked by stacking a second piece on top (or flipping the piece in some sets).

King abilities:

  • Can move one square diagonally in any direction — both forward and backward
  • Can jump in any direction — both forward and backward
  • Follows all the same jumping rules as regular pieces

Kings are significantly more powerful than regular pieces because of their backward movement.

Winning the Game

You win by:

  1. Capturing all of your opponent’s pieces, or
  2. Blocking all of your opponent’s pieces so they have no legal move

Draws

A game is drawn when:

  • Both players agree to a draw
  • The same position repeats three times
  • Neither player can force a win (e.g., one king each with no way to capture)
  • A specified number of moves pass without a capture or promotion (tournament rules vary)

Example Turn

  1. You move a piece one square diagonally forward
  2. Your opponent moves one of their pieces diagonally forward
  3. An opponent’s piece is now diagonally adjacent to one of your pieces, with an empty square beyond it
  4. You must jump — your piece leaps over theirs, landing on the square beyond
  5. The jumped piece is removed from the board
  6. If another jump is available from the landing square, you continue jumping

Quick Reference

Rule Detail
Board 8×8, dark squares only (32 playable squares)
Pieces per player 12
Movement One square diagonally forward (men) or any direction (kings)
Capturing Diagonal jump over opponent’s piece
Mandatory capture Yes — you must jump if able
Promotion Reaching the last row makes a king
King movement One square diagonally, any direction
Win condition Capture all pieces or block all movement

Next Steps

Now that you know the rules, the next step is learning basic strategy. Even a few simple principles will dramatically improve your game.